1935 RCA "Special" K Portable Gramophone John Vassos Design playing Pennies From Heaven

John Vassos [1898-1985] was an extremely versatile US industrial and graphical designer and book illustrator, between 1933 and 1964 mostly working for RCA Victor. He participated at the 1939 World's Fair with the design of the "Radio Living Room of Tomorrow" which included his 1935 iconic record player "The Special". Three versions are known: this "K" in aluminum with black accents, "M" the same with red accents, "J" with burgundy leatherette covered wood. They also differ in details, like the handle and speaker, but the main features are common: chrome-plated metal deck with turntable, tone arm, needle cups and controls, mechanical conventional single-spring wind-up motor, record storage tabs and a battery operated 3-tube amplifier. The tonearm contains Vassos' famous oval head shell with the bulky piezoelectric Rochelle salt cartridge. What is absolutely stunning is that this cartridge is working like on day one 83 years ago. The machine has been thoroughly restored, which means replacement of all the deteriorated rubber pieces, restoring the amplifier and making a new battery. The 3 tubes need 1.5 Volt for their heater strings, and 90 Volt for their plates. Four conventional 1.5V D-cells in parallel, and ten 9V block cells in series fit snugly into the original 6TA60 Burgess A&B battery case, which had been carefully emptied from the defunct guts. The amplifier has been recapped, the notorious "bias battery" problem solved, and all 3 RCA branded tubes tested to be excellent. Let's listen to "Pennies From Heaven", a Decca 12" record from 1936, with Frances Langford, Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby and the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra.